Dear New Friends
by Sonata Rapp
Summary: Mimi has died and Roger is distraught. Not even Mark can console him. Along comes Reggie, a young woman new to Alphabet City. She brings love for one of our boys and comfort for the other.
1. Chapter 1

Dear New Friends

Chapter 1

A/N: I know that certain parts of this chapter might lead you to believe that the story is going to be Mark/Roger. But I promise it's not. It's just two friend's comforting each other from the loss of another friend.

_Roger clutched the dying Mimi's hand to his heart as tears flowed freely down his face. "Don't leave me.," he whispered to her. "I love you."_

_Mimi smiled weakly and drew a ragged breath. "I love you too Roger. But it's time for me to go. Promise me you'll be strong, that you won't shut your friends out." she said softly._

_"I can't lose you Mimi." Roger said back._

_"Promise me Roger." Mimi insisted. Roger bowed his head, and tried to squelch the flow of tears for Mimi's sake. _

_"I promise." he said finally. "Say hello to Angel for me." Mimi heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at him one last time and then she was gone. _

"Mimi!" Roger screamed as he woke up. He sat up panting and looked around his dark room. The clock on the table beside his bed said it was 3:07 am. He sighed and ran a hand over his sweating face. This was the third night in a row that he had dreamed about Mimi's death, even though it had been nearly a year since she'd died.

Then there was a knock on his bedroom door. "Come in.", he called knowing it was Mark. Every time he dreamed about Mimi and woke up screaming, Mark came to check on him, no matter what time it was.

Mark pushed the door open and came to sit on Roger's bed. "You okay?" he asked, concern shining in his blue eyes.

Roger nodded as tears threatened to spill from his green ones. "I just miss her.", he said, his voice cracking. He leaned his head on Mark's shoulder.

"We all miss her." Mark said softly. "Not in the same way you do, but we miss her just the same. You promised her you'd be strong remember."

Roger nodded and buried his face in Mark's shirt. "I'm trying to." he said. "It's just really hard."

"I know." Mark said rubbing his best friend's back. "I know." They stayed that way until Roger fell asleep and then Mark tucked him back under the covers and went back into his own room. He was very worried about Roger. Since Mimi had succumbed to the AIDS virus, he'd stopped eating and was losing weight he couldn't afford to lose. It was just like when he'd lost April. Roger didn't leave the loft anymore and he was always sad. There was nothing Mark, Collins, or even Maureen could do but keep watch after him to make sure he didn't do anything foolish.

Without warning tears coursed down Mark's cheeks. He hadn't really allowed himself to grieve for Mimi because he knew he had to be strong for Roger's sake. But sometimes, like now, when he was alone, he thought about how much he missed the light that Mimi brought to everyone's life and he just couldn't help but cry. Soon there was a knock on his bedroom door. Without waiting for a response, Roger opened the door and came to sit with Mark.

"Sorry I woke you up." Mark said wiping his eyes. "I'm okay." Roger wrapped his arm around him, and Mark leaned his head on his shoulder.

"It's okay to cry Marky." Roger said. "I know you feel like you have to be strong for me. But it's okay for you to cry if you need to. I know you miss her too." The two best friends lay back on Mark's bed and Roger pulled the covers up over them. Soon they were asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning the sun was shining brightly as Roger woke up in Mark's bed alone. He was confused for a minute until he remembered what had happened earlier that morning. The last thing he remembered was he and Mark falling asleep together. But Mark wasn't in the bed.

So Roger went in search of him. "Mark?" he called.

"Hm?" came the muffled reply. Mark was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and getting ready to go to work.

"Oh there you are. I was just wondering where you'd gotten to." Roger said. Then he went and flopped down on the couch.

Mark came out of the bathroom and grabbed his stuff. "Sorry I left you in there alone. I had to get ready and you were sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to wake you up."

"S'okay." Roger said as he turned on the T.V. that had been a Christmas gift from Benny.

"I'm off then. I'll try to bring home some food from work. See you around six." And with that, Mark left. He had gotten a job at the local supermarket as a clerk/ produce boy and he was always bringing home the damaged cans and bruised fruit for him and Roger to eat.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Roger prepared for another day of sitting around the loft doing nothing by getting himself some breakfast. Or really lunch, since it was after noon. He found some bread that was only slightly stale and some ham that didn't smell bad and was making a sandwich when the front door slid open and Maureen came bouncing in.

"Hey Roger." she said as she plopped herself down on the couch.

"Hello Maureen." Roger responded sitting on the counter and eating his sandwich. "What's up?"

"I was thinking of going to the Life and terrorizing the new waiter. Wanna come?" she said with a hopeful smile.

"Not particularly." Roger replied.

"Oh come on Roger. You can't mope around here forever." Maureen insisted. "You have to get out sometime."

"I will get out. Just not right now okay. I have to think about some things and I need some time alone."

Maureen sighed heavily. "Fine. But I'm not giving up on you Roger Davis. You will leave this loft eventually."

Roger laughed at that. "I know I will Maureen, and it will be no doubt due to your forceful hen-pecking that I will."

Maureen stuck her tongue out at him and left. Once Roger was alone again he started thinking about Mimi. He had promised her that he wouldn't shut his friends out. Was he really keeping that promise?

"I'm trying Mimi. It's just hard to face life without you beside me." he whispered. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Roger rolled his eyes. It had to be one of his friends trying to convince him to leave the house. But since when did they knock?

He walked over to the door and slid it open. It wasn't one of the gang. It was a young girl with long black hair and eyes as green as Roger's though flecked with gold. She wore glasses and had on jeans and a T-shirt.

"Hi." she said politely. "My name is Regina Parker and I just moved in across the hall. It seems that there's no power in my loft and I was wondering if you had the landlord's number so I could call him."

"Sure." Roger said. "Me and the landlord go way back. Come on in." he moved aside so that she could come in. "I'm Roger Davis by the way." he added.

He went over and picked up the phone and dialed Benny's number. It was answered by Alison.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey Alison, it's Roger."

"Oh hello Roger." Alison said back. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. Is Benny around?" Roger hated when people asked him how he was holding up. So he tried to change the subject quickly.

"Yes, I'll get him for you." Alison told him. A few seconds later Benny got on the phone and Roger explained the problem. Benny promised to get on it as soon as possible.

"Well," Roger said to Regina, "He said he'd get on it soon. But knowing Benny, that could be a while. So I guess you can hang out here if you want." he offered.

"Oh thanks." Regina accepted with a smile. "I don't know anybody here yet and I was kind of worried because this isn't the best part of town."

"You can say that again." Roger agreed. "But not every one is a crazy as those people out there. I'm not anyway."

"Yeah you seem like a nice guy." said Regina.

"So Regina what brings you to Alphabet City?" Roger wanted to know. "Business or pleasure?"

"Actually it's more like lack of anywhere else to stay." Regina said. "Oh and you can call me Reggie. I hate my whole name. See I'm eighteen and my parents want me to go to college and get a degree in accounting or something. But I want something else out of life. I mean yeah I'm smart and everything, but I consider myself an artist. That's why I came here to the East Village. It always seemed like Bohemia to me. But I could only afford to live in this building."

"Wow you sound just like my best friend Mark. He was always so smart but he hated college life and ended up coming here to live with me." Roger said.

"So you've been here a while?" Reggie asked.

"Oh yeah. It's been about five years now. Anyway what kind of art are you in to?"

"I like to write and I want to learn to play the guitar but I haven't had much luck there." she responded.

"Well it just so happens that Roger here is an excellent guitar player. Not much of a teacher though." said a voice from the door.

Roger rolled his eyes. "Knock much Maureen?" he asked her.

"Nobody bothers to knock on this door Rog. It's never locked." Maureen informed him. "Who's your friend?"

"Maureen, this is Reggie Parker. She just moved in across the hall. Reggie, this is my friend Maureen Johnson." Roger said making introductions.

"It's nice to meet you Reggie." Maureen said. "Welcome to Bohemia, you'll love it here."

"Thanks Maureen. I'm sure I will."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mark opened the door to the loft and was surprised to see a young woman sitting on the couch. He had never seen her before and she looked like she had been sitting there for a while.

"Um hi." Mark said as he came in.

"Oh hi." the girl said looking up. "You must be Mark." Roger poked his head out of his bedroom when he heard that.

"Did someone say Mark?" he asked. Then he saw Mark in the doorway and came all the way out of his room. "Hey you're home. Got any food?"

Mark just continued to stare at Roger who looked back confused. "What?" he said. Then he looked at Reggie. "Oh right. Mark this is Reggie Parker. Reggie that's Mark." Then he went back into his room.

"You must be new here." Mark said coming to sit beside Reggie on the couch.

"I just moved in across the hall today." she confirmed.

"What's Roger doing?" Mark wanted to know.

"He's going to yell at Benny the landlord because he hasn't come to fix my power yet."

Mark's eyes widened. "Roger's leaving the loft?" he asked incredulously. Then he jumped up and ran into Roger's room. "You're actually leaving the loft?" he repeated.

"Yes. Benny said he was coming to fix Reggie's power four hours ago. I'm going to hurry him up." Roger explained.

"But you're actually going to leave the loft?" Mark said again.

"Yes Mark. I told you I wasn't going to stay holed up here forever. I'm going to take it one-step at a time and I may as well start by helping a fellow Bohemian. Now back to my original question. Did you bring home any food?"

Mark laughed. "Yes Roger, I brought home some food. I'm just surprised to see that you are actually doing something other than lying around moping. And that you are going out for the first time in like eight months."

"Well it's your doing Mark." Roger informed him. "What happened early this morning really helped me. I wasn't being true to my promise to Mimi. Just when I was questioning that, Reggie came to the door. It just feels right to be up and about again." he explained.

"And I suppose it also doesn't hurt that Reggie is a pretty girl." Mark said with a smirk.

"Hey, after Mimi I need to be single for a long while. But if you think she's pretty, why don't you go for her?" Roger said.

"I can't just go for her like that. I don't even know her. It wouldn't be right."

"But Mark she's perfect for you. Reggie's smart just like you and she came here to escape a boring college life like you did. She's new around here, just offer to show her the sights and stuff and you two can have a conversation and you'll see how alike you really are." Roger told him.

"I guess I could do that. But tonight I'm going to see if Maureen will come over here and cook us some dinner." Mark said.

"Why Maureen?" Roger wanted to know.

"Because she cooks better than either one of us." was the reply. Roger had to admit he was right. Maureen and Collins were the best cooks out of all of them, but Collins was out of town now. Therefore, Maureen would have to do.

"So there'll be food ready when I get back?" he asked.

"If you hurry up and get out of here, maybe there will."

Roger laughed. "Okay, okay I'm going. Oh and you need to invite Reggie to stay for dinner."

Mark turned to leave them room. "Alright." he agreed.

Twenty minutes later, Roger had left and Reggie accepted the offer to stay for dinner. Maureen came in with her arms full of pots, and pans.

"What's all this for?" Mark asked as he came to help her. "We have pots and pans here."

Maureen giggled. "Marky, some of those pans were washed by Roger. And we all know that his favorite method of washing dishes is wiping a wet sock over the dishes that are the dirtiest and blowing on the ones that look clean. I'd rather not get sick thank you."

Then Reggie emerged form the bathroom. "Hi Maureen." she said. "I thought I heard your voice."

"You probably heard it back when she was still outside." Mark muttered under his breath.

Maureen threw a balled up sock at Mark and turned to Regina. "Hey Reg." she said. "You staying for dinner? I'm making my specialty."

Mark swallowed a laugh. "What specialty would that be Maureen? And where did you get this sock?"

"First of all my specialty is vegetarian spaghetti and the sock was in the sink. So I'm guessing it was Roger's turn to wash dishes last night." Maureen said.

Mark walked into Roger's room muttering, "He's here all day and he can't even wash dishes properly. Jeez."

Maureen laughed again and turned to Reggie. "So how do you like the boys?"

"They're nice and funny." Reggie said. "Mark seems to be the one who keeps things running smoothly around here. But Roger's cool too."

"Yeah Mark always was the responsible one. You know I think you two have a lot in common." Maureen said. Just then, Mark came out of Roger's room scowling.

"You'd think that a grown man would know how to clean something properly." he complained to Maureen.

"Yes sweetie, a grown man would know how to clean things. However, we're talking about Roger. He's not like normal people when it comes to being responsible."

Mark laughed at that and went back to sit on the couch with Reggie. "So," he began. "How do you like it here so far?"

"Well it seems to be a little crazy out there. When I first got here, there was this lady outside yelling at a police officer when he told her to get up. It was so surreal." Reggie said.

"Oh that was Blanket Person." Mark explained. "She likes to yell at people. But if you want, I could show you around sometime. You know, so you would know where everything is and the safest way to get there."

Reggie smiled at how Mark was blushing. "I'd like that Mark. How about tomorrow. When do you get off work?"

"I get off at four tomorrow."

"Okay so I'll meet you here at four-thirty tomorrow." Reggie said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day when Mark got up to get ready to take the early shift at work; Roger was sitting in the window seat staring out at the street.

"What are you doing Roger?" Mark asked.

"Just thinking about stuff." Roger replied. "So your big date with Reggie is today huh?"

"It's not a date Rog. I'm just showing her around." Mark said back blushing. "What are you going to do today?"

Roger turned to look at him. "If Reg comes over I'm going to teach her to play guitar. If she doesn't, I'll probably just watch T.V." he said.

Mark shook his head and grinned. "Ah such is the life of the unemployed. Must be nice to be so lazy." he said. "Unfortunately I have to get ready to go to my job. You know the one that ensures you eat every night?"

"Yeah yeah." Roger said turning to look back out the window. "You know that tomorrow is Mimi's birthday?" he asked suddenly.

"I remember." Mark said softly. "You gonna be okay?"

Roger sighed. "Don't know right now." he said. "But you'd better get going. If you're late for work they might not let you bring home any food."

"And we can't have that." Mark said laughing as he headed out the door. "See you later." Once he was gone, Roger sighed. It was hard for him to sit around the house alone sometimes. Even when Mark was at work, he had Mimi to keep him company. Now, he was always alone, and that gave him more time to think about how much he missed Mimi.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Come on in Reg." he called. She slid the door open and Roger's eyes widened as she came in. Today she had on a short denim skirt and a low cut pink tank top. She looked great.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

Roger forced himself to look away from her well-shaped body. "You're the only one who actually bothers to knock around here." he informed her. Then he couldn't resist adding, "You look really nice. What's the occasion?"

Reggie blushed. "Well I just wanted to look nice for when Mark shows me around later today."

Roger grinned at her. "You like Mark." he accused. Then he hopped down from the window seat and headed into the kitchen singing, "You like Mark, you like Mark."

"Oh shut up Roger." Reg said blushing harder, but not denying what he said. She did find Mark attractive, but she barely even knew him. Roger stopped laughing when he saw her expression.

"Do you really like Mark?" he asked.

"Well kind of." Reg said softly. "But it's not like I can do anything about it though. I don't even know him."

Roger came and sat beside her on the couch. "Mark's a simple guy. All you have to do is get to know him and you'll see how easy going he is. Maybe if you talk to him you might find he likes you too." he said.

Reg turned her gold-flecked green eyes to Roger. "You think he might?"

He shrugged. "Hey you never know with Mark. You've just got to talk to him. You will be spending the day with him after all. Now if you don't have anything else to do right now, I thought I would teach you how to play the guitar."

Reg brightened at that. "Really? Thank you Roger. My guitar is at my place though so I'll have to go get it."

"I'll come with you. I want to see what your place looks like." Roger offered.

She laughed. "Well I can tell you it's a lot cleaner than yours."

Roger shrugged. "Hey even though I'm here all day, I don't have time to clean." he said. They got up and went across the hall.

"Oh of course you don't." Reg said poking Roger. "You're much to busy for that." She unlocked her door and led Roger inside. "So this is where I live now. Just ignore the boxes. I haven't had time to unpack everything yet since my power just came back on last night."

"Hey you should get Maureen to come over here to help you get this place together. She might be crazy, but she's got style." Roger told her. "So where's your guitar?"

"In my room. I'll go and get it." A few seconds later, she returned with a dark green wooden acoustic guitar. "This is my baby." she said.

Roger eyed it appreciatively. "It's really nice." he said. "So let's go. I'm going to teach you everything I know."

Together they went back into Roger's loft and they sat on the couch. "Okay." Roger said once he'd gotten his guitar out of his room. "This is Mimi." he said.

Reg raised an eyebrow. "Your guitar's name is Mimi?" she asked.

"Yes. She is-" Roger stopped. "Mimi was very special to me. So I named my guitar for her." He fought back the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

Reggie smiled sadly. "I can understand that. My guitar used to be named for someone, but it didn't really work out that well. That's why I never learned to play."

"What was it's name?" Roger inquired.

"Adam." Reggie said. Then she shook her head as if to clear it. "But I don't want to talk about Adam right now."

Roger saw the look of sadness on her face and decided it was best to drop the subject. "Why don't you show me what you know already." he suggested.

So she did. Reg knew a few notes and the finger positions, so Roger spent three hours teaching her the rest of the notes, a few chords, and a simple song. Reggie learned fast and Roger promised that he would show her more later. He looked at the clock and saw that it was one-thirty.

Suddenly the door opened and Maureen came in. "Hello you two." she said brightly. "You look mighty cozy here all alone."

"Shut it Mo." Roger warned.

Maureen looked wounded. "Jeez, can't even take a joke anymore." she muttered. "So I came here to ask Reggie if she wanted me to help her unpack, _not_ to see you Roger."

Reg smiled at Maureen. "I would really love the help. Roger was just telling me I should ask you because you've got style."

Maureen turned to look at Roger. "Aww. You said that Roggy-poo? I always knew you liked me." she said grinning.

"If I didn't like you I would have stopped talking to you a long time ago. Like when you cheated on Mark. And if you call me _Roggy-poo _one more time you can consider yourself ex-communicated." Roger responded.

"Oh look Rog learned a new word." Maureen said smirking. She grabbed Reg's hand. "Come on girl, let's go tackle your apartment."

They went across the hall and Reggie let them in. Maureen surveyed the place and started to form her plan of action. "Okay." she said. "So we've got about two and a half hours until Mark gets home from work. I suggest we start in the front rooms and then work our way back if you're going for appearance. If you're going for practicality we should start in the bed and bathrooms and then work our way to the front."

"Whatever you think is best." Reggie replied, distracted.

Maureen looked at her. "Alright spill." she said. "I know something's wrong so tell me what it is."

"What did Roger mean when he said you cheated on Mark?" Reg wanted to know.

"Just what he said. Mark and I used to date a while ago. Then I decided I was a lesbian and cheated on him with my current girlfriend Joanne. Why do you ask?" Then before Reg could even answer Maureen exclaimed, "Oh my God! Do you like Mark?"

Reggie just blushed and nodded.

Maureen grinned happily. "This is great! Mark hasn't had a decent date since, well, me. You two are so perfect for each other. Take my advice, if you want to get him to like you, even though he probably already does, just be yourself. You two should hit it off great. Oh and if he starts turning red and fidgeting, it means he likes you and he's nervous. That's when you tell him you like him" she advised.

"Thanks so much Maureen." Reggie said and the girls got to work.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

At four o'clock Reggie's apartment was completely unpacked and everything was in place. Roger had come over to help with the heavy stuff and Maureen helped with the decorating. Then Roger heard Mark going into their loft across the hall.

"Mark's back." he announced. "You'd better hurry and get ready Reg." he said. "One thing about Mark is that he's always punctual."

Reggie nodded and went into her bathroom to freshen up a bit. Roger and Maureen went back over to Roger's place to greet Mark. He was putting away the food he'd brought home when they came in.

"Hey you guys." he said. "Where have you been?"

"Over at Reggie's helping her get her stuff settled." Maureen said giving Mark a kiss on the cheek. "She's very excited about going out with you today."

Mark blushed. "Me too." he said softly. "So how did the guitar lessons go?" he asked Roger.

"Really well." he replied. "She had a pretty good grasp of it already so I just taught her what she didn't know."

"Sounds good." Mark said. "Well I'd better go and get ready. Would one of you please tell me when Reg gets here? I don't want to come walking out in my underwear like I did the first time Joanne came over here." he went into the bathroom.

"Oh but that was so funny." Roger said under his breath. Then he dodged as Mark hurled a wet towel at his head.

Half an hour later Mark emerged from his room wearing his good jeans and a nice shirt.

"Aww look at Marky." Maureen said when he came out. "You look so nice." Mark blushed and mumbled a thank you. Then the front door opened and Reggie walked in. Mark turned an even deeper shade of red then. She still had on the same outfit but she had let her hair down from the ponytail she had earlier and it fell half way down her back.

"Hey Mark, you look great." she said softly.

"Thanks. You look- wow." he said.

Reggie giggled. "I take it that's a good thing." she said with a smile.

"Coming from Mark, it's very good. He's not a master of articulation when it comes to pretty girls." Roger interjected.

"Roger do you spend your time here reading the dictionary or something? Cause lately you've been coming up with these big words I didn't even know you knew." Maureen said poking Roger.

"Why don't you just shut up Maureen?" he retorted.

Mark rolled his eyes and walked over to Reggie. "We should probably get going, they're going to be at it for a while." he whispered to her.

She nodded. "Bye you guys." she called as she and Mark made their way out the door.

Once they were out of the building Mark turned to her. "So where do you want to go first?" he asked.

Reggie considered it. "Could we get something to eat? All that unpacking made me hungry."

"You got it." Mark said. "We can go to the Life." Reggie looked at him in confusion. "You'll see." he told her. Then he timidly took her hand and led her across the street and down the block to the Life Café.

When they walked in the door, the maitre d looked up. "Oh it's you again, I hope you have money. Who's this? She looks new and too young to be hanging around with you crazy people. Speaking of which where are the rest of them?" he said haughtily.

Mark just rolled his eyes. "This is Reggie Parker. She _is_ new here, and the rest of my friends are minding their own business. Why don't you?" he retorted. Then he led Reg over to his usual table.

"So I take it you guys come here a lot." she commented once they were seated.

"Yeah we do. But that guy doesn't like us because of this one time when we all felt the need to dance on the tables." Mark replied.

"You danced on the tables? How exactly did that work?" Reg wanted to know.

"Well, we pushed about three of them together end to end, and we danced on them while singing a tribute to Bohemia." Mark told her blushing a bit.

Reggie laughed. "That sound like fun." she said. "Any chance of that happening now?"

"Uh I think not." Mark said quickly. "But who knows, if you come here with all of us, it might happen."

Just then, the waiter came over to take their orders. "Cohen!" he exclaimed. "Good to see you man. How's everybody doing?"

Mark grinned at him. "Everybody's fine. This is Reggie Parker by the way, the newest addition to our ranks."

"Hi Reggie." the waiter said back. "I'm Sam; you could call me the official waiter for the Bohemians at the Life Café." Then he turned back to Mark. "Haven't seen Roger around lately. How's he doing?"

Mark sighed. "Roger's better. He just needs some time, you know? It's hard to get over something like that. And this is kinda the second time."

Sam nodded. "Well tell him I said hi. Anyway what can I get you?"

Mark ordered a hamburger and fries with a coke and Reg got the same with a sprite. While they were waiting for the food Mark asked Reg to tell him about herself.

"Well, I'm eighteen, originally from Boston, but I came here to get away from all the stuffy old people my parents wanted me to be around. Plus I've always loved New York, and it just turned out the only place I could afford was our building."

Mark smiled. "I can understand all that. I came here when I dropped out of college and decided to live with Roger. I was pretty much broke because my parents cut me off for a while and then I decided I didn't want their money."

"Yeah that's me too. My mom is like if I don't go to college then she's not sending me any money. But my dad is all for giving me some, probably just to spite my mother. And I just want to be free to do what I want, broke or not." Reg said.

"And what _do _you want to do Miss Reggie?" Mark asked her.

"I want to write books and play music. I want to meet nice people and maybe find someone to go out with."

Mark blushed yet again. "Well I think between me, Roger and our other three friends we can help you out with all that."

"So tell me about these friends of yours Mark. From the sound of it you guys are really close." Reg said.

Mark nodded. "We are. So, you know Roger and Maureen already. Roger's my best friend and Maureen is my ex girlfriend. She's a lesbian now so." he trailed off there. "There's also Joanne Jefferson, Maureen's lover and Collins, who used to be Roger's and my roommate."

Reg tilted her head to the side. "I was under the impression that there were more of you guys." she remarked.

"Well there used to be more of us. But," he stopped there not really knowing how to proceed. Then he felt Reg's hand on his. So he took a deep breath and plowed on. "We had three other friends. Benny became the landlord of our building and we decided we didn't like him that much anymore. Then there was Angel and Mimi. They were girlfriends of Collins and Roger respectively and they both had AIDS. Angel went first; he uh she got really sick and then just died. Mimi died about eight months ago. It really tore Roger up, so don't mention this to him."

Reg nodded understandingly. "That's really sad that you lost them like that. But I can really understand. I've lost my share of friends and family too." She gave Mark's hand a squeeze and then let go as Sam came over with their food. They stopped talking for a while and just ate.

Then Reg decided to go to another subject. "So what else is there to see around here?"

"Well I thought I would show you all the places that we usually frequent." Mark answered. And he did. After they had eaten and paid, Mark led her to the lot and explained about Maureen's performances. Across the street was the Cat Scratch Club, he told her about how Mimi used to work there. Then they took the subway to Life Support and Mark told her about all the meetings he had been to and about the year that changed their lives."

Reg had a question about that. "So if Roger's girlfriend had AIDS, does that mean he does too? Did he go to these meetings with you?"

"Actually I don't have AIDS. I just went to the meetings to support my friends." Mark clarified first. "And yes Roger has AIDS but it didn't come from Mimi. I can't really get into that because it's his story."

"I understand." Reg said. "So Collins teaches, Maureen performs, Roger's a musician, Joanne's a lawyer, and Benny's the landlord. What is it that you do? I know it has to be more than produce boy extraordinaire."

Mark laughed. "Well I am pretty good at that too, but I am a filmmaker. I make documentaries about the homeless and AIDS and my friends." he said.

"You any good?" Reggie asked.

"I like to think so. When we get back to the loft I'll show you one of my films." Mark said.

"That sounds good." Mark wrapped up the tour by introducing her to Blanket Person and then they headed home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Mark and Reggie got back to the loft, Roger and Maureen were gone. Mark showed her the film he had made two Christmases ago and then Reg went back to her own place. About an hour later Roger came back in.

"Hey Mark." he greeted. "How was your hot date?"

Mark just rolled his eyes and went into his room. A few minutes later he called out, "Hey Roger?"

"Yes Mark."

"How exactly do you go about asking a girl on a second date?" he asked sheepishly.

Roger came and stood in Mark's doorway. "Surely you've asked some girl on a second date before." he said. "What about Maureen?"

Mark blushed a little. "Actually she told me to ask her out again so I just did what she said. It wasn't hard. But now, I'm not sure what to do."

"Well did you two have fun today?" Roger asked.

"Yeah we did. She's a lot like me. Her parents wanted her to go to college and she just wants to be free. That's how I felt when I first came here."

"So that's good. You can help her along with this transition, you already showed her around, so why don't you help her get a job or something." Roger suggested.

"I would, but that seems like I'm so much older and more experienced than her and I don't want it to be that way. Plus there's an age difference." Mark protested. "I mean she's only eighteen."

"That's true, but you're only twenty-three. It's just five years, and you've got that whole boyish charm thing going on that makes you seem younger." Roger told him. "Look don't worry about it, I'm sure Reggie likes you and that she'd love to go out again. Just suck it up and ask her."

"I'll try." Mark said.

Roger walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. There was a carton of something that looked like cottage cheese in the back. "Hey Mark?" he called.

"Yes Roger."

"Did you bring home cottage cheese from work?" he wanted to know.

"No, but there's a carton of milk that's been in the fridge since back when Maureen lived here." Mark called back.

"Why hasn't anyone thrown it away?"

"Because Maureen and I have a bet going on how long it will take you to either throw it out or eat it." Mark explained.

Roger rolled his eyes and closed the refrigerator door. He opened up a cabinet and found some crackers. He was sitting on the couch eating them and watching TV when Mark called him again.

"Hey Roger?"

"Yes Mark."

"I just realized that you left the house again today. Where did you go?" Mark asked.

"Out to the Life with Maureen. She was getting on my last nerve talking about me washing dishes with a sock, so I decided to get her out of here. And the only way to do that was to go with her." Roger replied.

Mark came out of his room. "Hey Roger?"

"What?"

"I'm really proud of you." Mark told him. "You're handling this so much better than you were with the April thing."

Roger smiled. "And you are handling dating Regina better than you did with Maureen, because no offence, but Maureen walked all over you man. So I'm proud of you too."

Mark grinned at that and then turned to go back into his room. Then he stopped and said, "Hey Roger?"

"_What_ Mark."

"We have almost perfectly good dish towels. Stop washing dishes with a sock! That's so nasty because you know you don't wash your socks." Mark said sternly.

"Fine, I'll wash them the normal way." Roger said. Then he muttered under his breath. "It was your sock anyway."

"I heard that Davis." Mark called back.

The next morning, when Mark went to work Roger was still sleeping. On his way out the door, he bumped into Reggie who was getting ready to come into the loft carrying her guitar.

"Hi." she said shyly. "Is Roger in there?"

"Yeah, but he's sleep so you might have to wait if you want guitar lessons." Mark said back. "By the way I had a really good time yesterday."

"Me too." Reg said. "We should get together again."

Mark nodded. "Yeah, well I've got to get to work or Roger won't eat. Oh and a word of caution. Do not go into Roger's room. He has a tendency to sleep with nothing on and that's not a pretty sight in the morning."

Reggie laughed. "So I'll see you later?" she asked eagerly.

Mark blushed. "Um yeah. You sure will." he said and then hurried off. _She wants to see me again, _he thought. _That's a good sign. _

Reggie went into the loft. Sure enough there was a loud snoring sound coming from one of the bedrooms. She sat on the couch and was watching TV when the snoring stopped. There were loud sobs coming from Roger's room and then he cried out, "No Mimi! Don't leave me!"

Reggie jumped up and opened the door to the bedroom. "Rog you okay?" she asked softly. The sobbing continued, so she went farther into the room. "Roger?"

Roger was sitting up in the bed with his head in his hands. When he heard Reggie say his name he looked up. "Oh um Reggie." he said between sobs. "I'm okay it's just I." he broke off.

Reggie came and sat down on the bed beside him. "Oh Roger." she said and pulled him towards her. He laid his head on her shoulder. "It's about Mimi dying isn't it?" she asked.

He nodded. "How'd you know about that?" he asked then.

"Well for one thing you were calling out her name. Plus Mark told me that she was your girlfriend and she died." When there was no response from Roger she added. "I'm sorry for busting in here like this, I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

"I'm fine. It's just I have these dreams about when she died. She was so special to me and I just lost her. I miss her so much Reg." He said once the sobs had subsided.

Reggie nodded. "I understand. I had one of those special boyfriends too. He died last year from a drug overdose. Sometimes I dream about him too. Only I don't have anyone to come and comfort me."

Roger lifted his head. "That was Adam wasn't it?" he asked. Reggie nodded. Then Roger had an idea. "Mark told you about Life Support right?"

"Yeah."

"Well maybe we should make our own version of it. You know, comfort each other. Mark says sometimes talking helps." Roger offered.

"We could do that." Reg agreed. "I have an idea too. When I first lost Adam I turned to my writing to help me express my feelings. Maybe you could write something about Mimi, to help you memorialize her."

Roger nodded, and they were silent for a while. Then, "Thanks Regina." he said. "Usually Mark comes in here to help me, but I know he's at work. I really didn't want to have to deal with this alone."

"No problem. You're my friend now and that's what friends do." Roger smiled at her and then he stretched. Reggie got up and headed toward the door. Then she turned around. "Oh and Roger? For the love of God, please put on some pants before you come out here."

Roger chuckled as she closed the door behind her. He felt good about the idea to memorialize Mimi. It seemed like the right thing to do. He got dressed and went out into the main room.

"Okay I want to write something." he said. "Keep in mind that writing isn't my strong point. I mean it took me a year to write a two minute song."

Reggie smiled. "It's not about how good it is, it's about getting your feelings out." she advised him.

So Roger sat down and began to write. At first it was hard for him to get what he wanted to say out, but after a while the words, and some tears, began to flow. Reggie didn't interrupt him, and after about half an hour Roger announced that he was done.

"So how do you feel?" Reg wanted to know.

"I feel a lot better now. It's like a weight off my shoulders now that I got the words out. It was stuff I couldn't say out loud." he replied. Then he handed her the paper. "I want you to read it, and then give it to Mark."

"You sure?" Reg asked startled. Roger nodded. She unfolded the paper and began to read what Roger had written.

_Mimi Marquez was my girlfriend for nearly a year. But in the time I knew her she was so much more than that. She was a light that came into my life when it was at it's darkest and made me see that I had to live on. She saved me from losing my way and giving in to my fears and sadness. But Mimi wasn't perfection. She had AIDS and it was killing her slowly from the inside. I almost lost her once and I was determined never to lose her again. _

_But man cannot halt the course of life, and soon it was Mimi's time to go. Her last words to me were that I should be strong. I tried so hard to do that, but I broke under the weight and gave in to the darkness once again. Only this time, I thought there was no Mimi to bring me out of it. I was wrong. Mimi's spirit and loving heart, still lives on in me and my wonderfully helpful friends, Mark, Maureen, Collins, Joanne, and even Benny. And also in my new friend Reggie who never even knew her. With them around, I know Mimi will never really leave me._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Oh Rog." Reggie said with tears in her eyes. "That was so beautifully written. Maureen was wrong; you do have a way with words."

Roger blushed at her praise. "Thanks. It's just whenever I write about something I care about the words seem to flow. Otherwise I'm really not that literate." He lowered his gaze. "Plus it helps that today would have been Mimi's birthday. She's really on my mind today."

Reg put her hand on Roger's shoulder. "Why don't you tell me about her? It will make you feel better to talk about it."

"That's what Mark always says." Roger replied.

Reggie smiled a bit. "Well Mark's a pretty great guy. You should listen to him."

Roger took a deep steadying breath. It might be hard, but he knew that the only way to truly get over Mimi's passing was to talk about her. "I'm not sure where to start." he admitted to Reg.

"How about you start with how you met her." she suggested.

Roger smiled at the memory. "It was crazy how we met." he began the story of that Christmas. Mark had already told her some parts, but he had glanced over the deep emotional stuff that had happened. Roger went into everything that had happened. From his recluse phase to Angel's death, emphasizing Mimi's part in it all.

Once he got to the part when Mimi got sick for the final time the tears started to fall again. "It was about a year after that Christmas. Mimi started to get sick again, but she was doing everything right. I know because I was making sure of it. Everyone knew she was dying. We had seen it before when Angel went. But all the same, I refused to believe it. I kept telling her that everything would be okay and that she was going to get better. I said for my benefit as much as it was for hers. She knew better though, she knew that it was her time." he sighed. "And so she went to the hospital one last time. Even though she, and we, already knew she would never leave it. I was there for her last breaths. She made me promise that I was going to be strong when she left, and I'm trying my hardest to fulfill that promise."

Reggie was crying openly now. She had never know Mimi, but the story of her death brought back memories of Adam's. Roger too was crying. But they weren't tears of sadness. It was more like relief at finally getting all of his feelings off his chest. It was different to talk to Reggie. Talking to Mark had always been helpful, but it was nice to talk to someone who was completely unbiased toward the events.

Roger looked up and wiped his eyes. He saw that Reg was still crying. "Hey I didn't mean to bum you out with that. You gonna be okay?"

Reggie nodded. "It wasn't that. I was just thinking about when Adam died. I didn't have any last moments with him. At first, I thought that was a good thing. But now, I kinda wish I had been there to say goodbye."

Roger pulled Reggie over to him until her head was in his lap. "Okay, I had my healing moment, now it's your turn. Tell me what happened."

"Well you have to understand that Adam was never a rebellious guy. He was just curious about a lot of stuff and it tended to get him into trouble a lot. He came from a nice family. My parents approved of him and we were best friends all through middle and high school. When we started dating in the tenth grade, we were still friends. But he started to change. He found that he was tired of living his respectable life."

"That sounds kind of rebellious to me." Roger commented.

She shook her head. "He just wanted to see what it was like to be on the other side. And when he did, he found that he loved it. Adam would've loved living here. As he changed, I changed too. I saw how much fun Adam was having being what he called a free entity. It made him so much happier. He bought me my guitar and I named it for him. That's when I really started getting artistically inclined. It was great for a year or so. Then he fell in with those stupid guys."

"You mean those guys who think that being a junkie makes you more liberated and artistic?" Roger asked. Reg nodded and he sighed. "Yeah, I used to be one of those guys. It was fun at first, but after a while..." he trailed off.

"I wish Adam could've realized that. But he was so happy that he had finally found people who 'understood' him. He did whatever they did, including drugs. And when I found out, I told him I couldn't be with him anymore."

"So you just avoided him?"

Reg shook her head. "I didn't have to. He stopped coming to school after a while and I didn't see him for a few months. Then one day his mother called our house looking for him. She said he'd missing since the day before." She stopped here and tried to stop her tears. Roger stroked her hair gently until she was calm again. "I didn't even feel bad that he was gone. Until we got the call from one of his 'so called friends' that he had overdosed and was dead. Then I wished that I would've done something to stop him earlier. But it was too late for regrets."

Roger continued to hold her and stroke her hair. He softly sang, "Forget regret or life is yours to miss." and she smiled.

They were just sitting there offering each other comfort when Mark slid the door open and saw them together.

Author's Note: This story comes out in weird spurts sometimes. It's like one minute I have something to write about and the next I'm stuck. Reggie and Roger are not going to get together though. Mark doesn't know that, as you will soon see. Now, there's a pretty little button marked "GO" right below this. does Vanna White hand gesture towards button Click on it please and tell me what you thought of this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Mark slid the loft's door open and was met with the sight of the girl that he liked with her head in his best friend's lap. Roger was even stroking her hair. He shut the door behind him hard.

"What's up Mark?" Roger asked.

"Can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Sure go ahead." Roger said a little confused.

"In private." Mark said back. He was very upset. Roger shrugged and eased Reggie up from his lap. Then it hit him how that must have looked to Mark. They went into Roger's bedroom.

"Mark I know how that looked, but you've got to listen to me." Roger began.

"How could you Roger? You know how much I like Reggie. Do you always have to get the girl?" Mark rebutted.

"What do you mean by that?" Roger wanted to know.

"You know perfectly well what I mean. All through high school every girl I was even remotely interested in came to you."

"It's not my fault that you couldn't get a girlfriend. Maybe if you had pulled your face away from that camera you might have met someone." Roger retorted.

"We've already sung that song Roger." Mark spat. "Yeah, I love my camera. But that doesn't give you permission to go off and take the only girl I've liked since Maureen."

"Mark I-"

"And didn't you say that you were going to be single for a while in respect of Mimi? This doesn't look like you're respecting her to me." he continued.

"Mark would you just-" Roger tried again.

"No, I've always been there for you Roger. When April died, when Mimi died. I was there. And this is how you fucking repay me? For all those times I got up in the middle of the night to make sure you were okay? For all the bruises and shit I took when you were going through withdrawal? That's really nice Roger. Real fucking nice" Mark's usually pale skin was red now as he yelled at his friend.

Roger opened his mouth to say something, but Mark cut him off again. "Maybe there's a reason all your girlfriends die on you." he said under his breath.

That was the last straw for Roger. He strode forward and closed the distance between him and Mark and then slammed his friend into the bedroom wall. "Don't." he said, his voice deadly quiet. "Don't you ever say that." Mark stopped talking and looked Roger in the eye. Roger stared right back. "I get enough guilt from myself about that, and I don't need it from you. Especially since you don't know how it feels to lose someone that close to you. But you know what? Reggie knows, she's had loss like mine. So she and I were talking, just talking about our losses and comforting each other. That's it. So maybe you should watch what you say when you come barreling in here, thinking you know everything."

Mark was silent, so Roger continued. "I would never disrespect Mimi like that. Especially not on her birthday, or on any other day for that matter. And I would never do that to you either. Because I do appreciate all you've done for me Mark. I appreciate every blow, both physical and emotional, that you took for me and from me. I am thankful every day that you are here. Because if you weren't I would probably be six-feet under by now. And I take a lot of crap from you Mark. It's only when you start acting like this that I get upset."

He unpinned Mark from the wall and moved back. Mark just stared at him. Then he sighed. "I'm sorry." he said, barely above a whisper. "I know you would never do that. I guess I'm just-" he stopped.

Roger looked at him. "You're just what?" he smiled a bit. "Just a scrawny little guy who needs some help romantically?"

Mark lowered his eyes. "I've always been jealous of you, you know. Ever since we were younger, and I guess I still am. I was just insecure." he said

"Why in the world would you be jealous of me?" Roger wanted to know. "It's really not that great being Roger Davis; you of all people should know that."

Then Mark smiled a little too. "Yeah but it always seemed like even when you were at your worst, the ladies still loved you." he said. "I could never get anyone to really like me. Except for Maureen, and I'm not sure how much that counts since she's pretty much insane."

"But Reggie likes _you_. She's just a friend to me. A friend who happens to share the same losses I do. Mark, she wants you. Now go, take some of that energy you were just using to tell me off, and get your girl." Roger said.

"But you-" Mark spluttered. "Are we-"

"We're fine Mark." Roger said with a smile. "Like I said, I'll take a lot of crap from you because you're my closest friend. Just don't ever try that again." he stopped and blushed. "Oh, and I'm sorry I slammed you into the wall. You know I have anger issues."

Mark outright grinned now. "You mean like the time you practically tossed Mimi out of the loft when she wanted you to go out with her?" he asked with mock innocence.

Roger rolled his eyes. "If you don't get out there and tell Reggie you like her and take _her_ out, I'm going to make you." he said.

"Alright I'm going." Mark said. "Don't get violent." He stood up and walked toward the door. "Hey Roger?"

"Yes Mark."

"I love you. You know that right?"

Roger grinned back. "So you're going to ask a girl out, but you really have a thing for guys." he teased.

"I'm serious." Mark said smiling.

"I know." Roger replied going to give him a hug. "I love you too man. Even if you are a scrawny, romantically challenged, camera obsessed, little Jewish boy." Then he opened the door and pushed Mark out. "Now go!" he said.

Mark stumbled out of the room when Roger pushed him and found the living room was empty. Reggie had decided that it was better for her to leave than be the cause of Mark and Roger's fight. He walked out the door and across the hall to Reg's apartment. She opened the door after he knocked.

"Hey Reg, I think we need to talk." he said.

"Look Mark I don't want to be the cause of you and Roger's fighting. Your friendship is too important for that." she said back.

Mark shook his head. "Roger and I are fine. There were just things that we needed to say to each other and now that we have, we're going to be fine."

"Oh, well I'm sorry that you thought Roger and I were- you know. Because I would never. I mean Roger is attractive in that obvious sort of way, but you, you have that softer charm that I like. Plus we have so much in common it only makes sense that I would like you and I know I'm new here and much younger than you but I -"

Mark cut off her rambling by leaning forward and kissing her on the mouth. Reg's eyes widened for a minute and then she kissed him back. When they came up for air Mark said. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions about you and Roger. I just have some insecurity issues that come form living with the Tragic Sex God for all these years."

Reggie raised an eyebrow. "You guys call Roger the Tragic Sex God?" she asked skeptically.

"Not me. It's Maureen and all of Roger's groupies who call him that. I call him the Lazy Lump Who Can't Even Wash Dishes Correctly. But I also call him my best friend." Mark replied.

Reg smiled. "Well it's good that he has you Mark Cohen. I'm sure glad you're here."

"I'm glad you're here too, Regina Parker. I have a feeling that Bohemia will never be same for me or Roger." Mark said with a smile. Then he kissed her again.

THE END


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